September 16, Monday Cuzco • Fly to Quito, Ecuador
Destination: Quito
Accommodations: NH COLLECTION ROYAL QUITO
Activity Note: We will spend the day at elevations above 8,000-9,000 feet. We recommend staying hydrated while at high altitude
Today was a day of flights and I don’t mean the kind that a waiter lines up for tasting, but the kind where you wait IN lines and finally get seated on a plane.
We were up very early to take the bus to the airport for our flight to Lima. The hotel opened the restaurant for us at 5:30 am and we had a quick bite. The young girl Allan and I sat with on the train to Machu Picchu, who came from Chile, happened to be at the breakfast as well. When I went over to her, she jumped up and hugged and kissed Allan and me. She has been traveling solo and she doesn’t speak very much English, but we still were able to communicate. She finished her breakfast and when she left, she hugged and kissed us again. We wished her safe travels and off she went.
Our group then boarded a bus for the ten minute drive to the airport. Patty had already procured our boarding passes for the flight to Lima as well as the boarding passes for our next flight to Quito, Ecuador. She also had our luggage tags all set and on our bags, and the bags would be checked straight through to the Quito airport. Check in was a breeze because in Peru as well as Ecuador, seniors are able to get in the line for pregnant women, parents with children and folks in wheelchairs, etc. which is much shorter. In the states, they have lines for parents with small children and folks in wheelchairs, but it never includes senior citizens.
We bid Patty goodbye. She was an amazing guide and we were so appreciative of all she did for us and the knowledge and history she imparted to us. We hope to stay in touch.
The flight to Lima was fine and upon arriving we made our way to international departures. We had to go through security again since we were leaving Peru and flying to Ecuador.
That flight was fine until the end when we flew over the mountains. The plane banked and dropped over and over… a few big drops made people scream. I just held onto the seat and finally, we landed. Whew! A little scary.
We had to go through migration and show our passports to be stamped and then we picked up our luggage. Our new guide Pablo was waiting for us and off we went for the 45 minute drive to the hotel.
After settling in to our room, which is quite spacious, we met Dick and Sharon for a drink at the bar. The bar didn’t have many selections and no one was there except us, which was odd. After we ordered, the bar tender had to go somewhere else to get the glasses. Weird. The hotel itself is lovely with many amenities, but the bar, even though quite cozy, is not the best.
At 6:30 we had an intro meeting with Pablo and he told us what to expect for our next few days in Quito and what we should prepare for when we leave for the Galapagos on Thursday.
The meeting lasted for about 45 minutes and we were starving, since we’d eaten a light breakfast very early in the morning and only had a quinoa bar on the plane.
Sharon, Dick, Allan and I went down the block to an Asian restaurant and Allan and I had steamed dumplings, a red bean paste dumpling, and wonton soup with shrimp and pork. The meal was outstanding!!
Then it was back to the hotel and we fell into bed for a good night’s sleep.
Our first look at Ecuador.